Conventional touch-based input solutions commonly utilize a “point and click” approach to interaction. Visual elements on a screen (e.g. icons, hyperlinks, buttons, or edit boxes) present the opportunity for a user to give a system information or input. The user taps on touch-sensitive portions of the screen to simulate what is often achieved by hovering a mouse cursor over the control and clicking.
A problem often encountered when deploying touch-based devices is calibrating the touch-screen so that when the user taps on an “OK” button, the use does not end up actually missing the control, or triggering a nearby control without intending. This is sometimes mitigated by creating oversized controls that are harder to miss because of their larger target area. On mobile devices, however, people usually use a stylus instead, continuing to rely on small buttons with precision of the touch input via the stylus.
Often, a set of cascading menus or tab controls is used to put similar options or controls into groupings. This results in the user having to tap on small areas of the screen multiple times in order to access the control data, or option that they are looking to view or change. On a small portable device, this can be tedious and cause the user to lose patience with the device.